Mounting rails are well known in the field of assault rifles and modern sporting rifles. Almost always featuring some type of mounting rail on top of the upper receiver, many such rifles are also either manufactured with, or modified to include, mounting rails in the area where a forward grip would otherwise cover the rear end of the barrel. Quite often, these mounting rails (collectively referred to herein as forward rails) include not only upward-facing rails, but also downward-, leftward- and rightward-facing rails.
While quite convenient for mounting a variety of accessories, these forward rails can be uncomfortable to hold and may offer insufficient protection for a shooter's hand from the heat generated by the forward end of the barrel and metal hardware in thermal contact therewith. To address some of these issues, various rail guards have been offered which afford additional comfort to a shooter; nonetheless, further improvements are possible.